Low vitamin levels making Delhiites sick

Scores of people in Delhi, owing to poor dietary habits stemming from stressful lifestyles, are suffering from vitamin B12 deficiency with women and vegetarians leading the pack.

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Neetu CHandRA

New Delhi

June 12, 2012

UPDATED: June 12, 2012 15:38 IST

Are you feeling depressed and weak, experiencing lapses in memory or losing your appetite? You could be suffering from vitamin B12 deficiency.

Scores of people in Delhi, owing to poor dietary habits stemming from stressful lifestyles, are suffering from vitamin B12 deficiency with women and vegetarians leading the pack, a study by GB Pant Hospital shows.

The findings, along with similar findings of studies carried out by other hospitals in the past, have been submitted to the Union health ministry.

"We have been receiving reports from hospitals and health associations drawing the government's attention to vitamin B12 deficiency in a major chunk of the city's population. This is an important issue. It has been suggested that tests to detect vitamin B12 deficiency should be included in routine check-ups," Dr Jagdish Prasad, director general of health services, said.

The deficiency of vitamin B12, vital for metabolism and production of red blood cells that carries oxygen to body parts and tissues, affects all age groups.

Symptoms include fatigue, numbness of hands and feet, memory loss, irritability, depression, gastrointestinal disorders and, in extreme cases, dementia. Barring the last, as the other symptoms are of a general nature and usually ignored, it becomes difficult to detect the deficiency.

The study found that in the 21-40 age-group, vitamin B12 levels were less than 200pg/ml. It should be more than 350 pg/ml in a healthy person. People in the 41-60 age-group were found to have less than 350 pg/ml vitamin B12. In all, 422 patients were examined, 214 men and 208 women. Gender is a factor contributing to the deficiency with more women found starved of the mineral than men.

As non-vegetarian foods are rich in vitamin B12, vegetarian diet has always been suspected to contribute towards its deficiency. The study found that the deficiency is far more prevalent than though and majority of the cases remain undiagnosed.

"In the early stage, the deficiency might be present with subtle and slight cognitive impairments. Hence, early recognition becomes crucial for preventing irreversible damage," it says.

Undiagnosed vitamin B12 deficiency becomes more prevalent and clinically evident with advancing age, the study adds. Although no specific risk group can be identified in terms of age, the deficiency is common in the aged. Forty-six patients who participated in the study and were found vitamin B12-deficient were aged over 60. Females and vegetarians are also in the at-risk group.

Vitamin B12 is also linked to insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes. "Studies have shown that low vitamin B12 status in mothers is related to higher levels of insulin resistance in their children. This may contribute to the epidemic of adiposity and Type 2 diabetes in India," Dr Anoop Misra, director of the Centre of Internal Medicine at Fortis Hospital, said.